Louvre Museum - Paris (France)

Nowadays the Louvre Museum is considered to be one of the biggest,  most famous and the most visited museum in the world. However, its long and rich history started in the 12^th century. Under Philip Augustus’ reign, the Louvre served as a royal fortress, which later was rebuilt  into a royal residence in the 16^th century. Nevertheless, the real Louvre known to tourists was established by King Francis I who renovated in French Renaissance style. The French Revolution transformed the Louvre into a public museum and the 10^th of August 1793 the museum was open for the public. Currently it is divided into 7 collections: Near Eastern antiquities, Egyptian antiquities, The Greek, Etruscan, and Roman department, Islamic art, Sculpture, Decorative art, Painting, Prints and drawings. Collections are divided into three wings: Sully, Richelieu and Denon. The Louvre holds approximately 380 thousand objects and the public have access to about 35 thousand of these works. Many of the exhibits were acquired by the museum during the French Third Republic mainly via donations and gifts.

In the 1980’s, the French president Francois Mitterran proposed a bold new plan to renovate the building, and the creation of the Inverted Pyramid. The original entrance could no longer handle the growing number of visitors and now visitors descend through the pyramid which leads to the three wings: Sully, Richelieu and Denon. The futuristic design of glass and metal was controversial at the time as the museum is considered classical architecture, however this mix of classical and ultra modern has now made the pyramid a landmark of the city of Paris and featured in the 2006 film, The Da Vinci Code.

It has been said that to see the museum in its entirety you would need nine months and many who visit for the afternoon leave feeling overwhelmed by the sheer size of the museum. The museum houses monuments, paintings and sculptures collected over the past five centuries from ancient times until the 19^th century, it is advisable to plan your visit in advance to ensure you don’t miss out on exhibits of interest.  Some noteworthy exhibits are:

- pietà Venus de Milo (author unknown)
- The Mona Lisa (Leonardo da Vinci)
- The Virgin of the Rocs (Leonardo da Vinci)
- Oath of the Horatii (Jacques-Louis David)
- Rebellious slave  (Michelangelo)
- Dying slave (Michelangelo)
- The Pieta of Villeneuve les Avignon

Gallery - Louvre Museum

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